Saturday, February 26, 2011

Foxglove





This morning I am sharing photos of foxglove which was growing prolifically in a couple of areas in my yard.

In the summer of 2008 my wife purchased one foxglove plant from a local nursery. I planted it near the front steps and watched it grow. The next year I noticed hundreds, if not thousands, of a new "weeds". I thought it might be foxglove, but wasn't sure. Several plants grew, but it wasn't until last summer, two years later, did the foxglove really bloom.

I really liked the plant and the beautiful flowers, but when I found out they are poisonous and could kill a small child, I tore all the plants up before they could produce more seeds. My 17 month old grandson will be out and about this summer and I don't want him near poisonous plants.

I included a wide view to show you how these flowers, which grew wild from the seeds from one original plant, added colour to a section of the yard that I am letting go wild. You can see how the meadowsweet, hawkweed and buttercups have grown on what was excavated ground with very little, if any, soil just three years ago.

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2 comments:

William F. Matthews said...

Beautiful. Great sharp pics of Digitalis purpurea aka Foxglove. Recent hybrids have florets upward facing.

For children: Eat nothing in the garden unless an adult has said that it is fit to eat, i.e. not poisonous. Aconitum (Monkshood) is deadly poison.... There are more, many more.

K. Bruce Lane - Photo of the Day said...

Thanks for the positive feedback and good advice re poisonous plants.

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